YOUNG KNIFE ATTACK VICTIM IS MAKING STEADY PROGRESS

“That was my Christmas present,” said her aunt, who is trying to get full custody of Azalyea.

Hernandez was charged with murder and premeditated attempted murder. He has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $5 million bail.

He has convictions for assault and domestic violence from Washington state in 2006 and a misdemeanor burglary conviction from San Diego County in 2007. Hernandez was also arrested Dec. 10 on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance.

Debbie Duran said her sister met Hernandez, a taxi driver, at a gas station when she called for a ride. Duran said the two spent time together but were not in a relationship. She said Hernandez wanted to go out with her sister, but she refused.

Duran said Azalyea and the man never got along. “She said, ‘He would give me these looks every time he came over to visit my mom,’ ” Duran recalled. “She would give him that look back.”

For the past month, Azalyea has been seeing a psychiatrist once a week at the Rady Children’s Hospital branch in Oceanside. She has taken up skateboarding and is about to join a softball league, and her aunt said she wants her to try horseback riding, too.

At her aunt’s house, she has her own room — painted purple, her mom’s favorite color, and filled with stuffed animals and a big-screen TV. But so far, Azalyea has not wanted to sleep there. She bunks with Duran instead.

“She hasn’t gotten the hang of it yet,” her aunt said. “I’ve tried. I say, ‘Let’s sleep in your room,’ and she goes, ‘No, not yet; we’ll go to your room.’ ”

For the most part, Azalyea has emerged from her ordeal a more open, friendly and bubbly little girl, Duran said.

“She’s like a caterpillar trying to come out of the cocoon to be a butterfly,” she said. “She’s going to end up doing something big. I can feel it.”